SC Alaska News

U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) called on Senate Democrats to support the Shutdown Fairness Act, a bill aimed at ensuring pay for essential federal employees required to work during government shutdowns. The legislation, introduced by Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) and cosponsored by Sullivan, would have guaranteed compensation for workers such as Transportation Security Administration personnel, air traffic controllers, military members, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, and other federal law enforcement officers.

The bill did not advance in the Senate after failing to reach the 60-vote threshold needed for passage. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) voted against it as a procedural step that allows him to bring the bill up again in the future.

In a video statement released before the vote, Sullivan addressed his colleagues: “I have a bill with Senator Johnson of Wisconsin that we're getting ready to vote on here in the Senate. I'm hoping it's going to break this logjam of this very unnecessary shutdown. It's day 23 of the Schumer shutdown. We're starting to hear some really interesting language from Democrat leaders here in the Congress. Senator Schumer recently said ‘every day’ of this shutdown ‘gets better for us.’ Who's us? I don't know who ‘us’ is. The deputy whip over there in the House, somebody named Clark—not sure who the heck she is, but she recently said, of course ‘families are going to suffer, but it's the only way we get leverage.’ Who's we? I don't know, but it's certainly not Alaskans. I'll tell you who it's really not. It's not federal workers who are required to go to work without getting paid. So that's what my bill is going to do. Today, my bill is going to say, if you're a federal worker—think about it, Capitol Police; look at these great heroes—they're required to work. They're not getting paid. ICE, air traffic control, TSA, all these great Alaskans, all these great Americans, they're required to work, let alone the Marines and the Army and the Navy. They're required to work during the Schumer shutdown. They're not getting paid. My bill simply says, if you're required to work during a shutdown, you should get paid. Everybody should be for that. Everybody should be for that. So hopefully that's going to break the logjam here in the United States Senate.

“But, look, when Schumer and this woman Clark—I don't know who she is—says we're benefiting, ‘we,’ because of a shutdown is hurting millions of families, I think the jig is up. This is a partisan shutdown. The only reason they're doing it is because they're scared of the far-left of their party. Come on, let's open the government. Vote for my bill, Senator Johnson's bill. Pay the people who are working, for goodness sake. Let's compromise on that. Let's get this government open.”